An instant New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick from beloved author Alice Hoffman—the spellbinding prequel to Practical Magic.Find your magic. For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to … of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.
From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Yet, the children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the memorable aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.
Alice Hoffman delivers “fairy-tale promise with real-life struggle” (The New York Times Book Review) in a story how the only remedy for being human is to be true to yourself. Thrilling and exquisite, real and fantastical, The Rules of Magic is “irresistible…the kind of book you race through, then pause at the last forty pages, savoring your final moments with the characters” (USA TODAY, 4/4 stars).
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I loved the story of magicians who try to live by the rules.
I absolutely loved this book. I would give it 5++ stars if I could. It’s so beautifully written. The story follows the Owens’ sibling trio – Franny, Jet, & Vincent – through their lives as they deal with love, loss, and what we call life. I’m so sad it is over. Perhaps I will pick up Practical Magic now.
This is the book Practical Magic should have been! I could not put this down.
“There is no remedy for love than to love more”
IMHO there is no better way to start and end a book than with such a practical saying by Thoreau. This is the long awaited “perequel” to Hoffman’s beloved “Practical Magic”, which has always been a favorite of mine (not so much the movie, although I do watch it occasionally)
Rules of Magic is the story of Vincent, Franny and Jet Owens, whose bloodline traced back to Maria Owens, who puta curse on the family line in retaliation for how she was treated in her life. However, it is also in some ways also the story of the decades that they grew up in and their responses to them, as if their history was another very active character.
Do the Owens break the curse, or does the curse break them? Can falling in Love curse the one you love? Can you love into the curse to soften its actions? Even the isolated siblings know enough to call on family to help them live. Can you define your family?
As a big fan of the eclectic breadth of Hoffman’s writing, I waited a long time to read this book, and now that I have I will certainly be getting a used copy for my own library. Highly recommended 5/5
I won’t give away the story, I hate that. These books are so much better than the movie, the movie is almost its own thing. I wish never seen the movie before I read the books, it loses the charm of these books.
Great world to get lost in for a while. Characters are well defined and memorable. Nice ride.
Enjoyed, as I have enjoyed all books by this author. She never disappoints. Reading one of her books reminds me often of reading fairy tales when I was a child. Thoroughly entertaining and her characters always give a tug at my heart strings. One of my favorite authors.
Good Alice Hoffman she does not disappoint
Great backstory for Practical Magic. Loved reading Franny, Vincent & Jet’s stories.
I read the entire book in one day. I couldn’t put it down. Wonderful characters that I felt like I knew and connected with, truly caring about their pain and futures. I’m left wanting more!
Love love love this story!
Alice Hoffman makes my top three writer but what I especially adored about The Rules of Magic is it’s the older storytelling style. I enjoyed the Marriage of Opposite and the Museum of Extraordinary Things but not near as much The Rules of Magic. I read strictly for pleasure so I wanted to be enchanted page after page…The Rules of Magic NEVER disappoints!!
Superbly delightful!